“What? It was only twelve kilometers away?”
Rabin Village lay about twelve kilometers south of here.
Who would have thought it was so close?
“I can get there in a day.”
First, he would finish his requests, then head south to Rabin Village.
He needed to earn some money if he wanted to live comfortably.
What he had now would hardly be enough even to manage the village.
Geon-hyeok bought a horse and a small freight wagon at a nearby stable, then climbed straight into the driver's seat.
“Let's go!”
He tugged on the reins, and the horse began to walk.
“This is fucking comfortable!”
A means of transportation really is essential!
Money is the best!
Smiling brightly, Geon-hyeok headed for the area marked on the map.
The fighting went much more smoothly than before.
On the first day, he brought down twenty kobolds.
On the second, he killed thirty-five goblins.
When he returned after completing his requests in two days, the guild clerk looked over the results in shock.
“You…… really killed fifty-five magic beasts all by yourself?”
“Oh, I suppose I never mentioned it. I'm a magic swordsman who can use the Sword Aura of a high-level Expert and second-circle magic.”
“What?!”
“Even two-star magic beasts can be a little difficult when there are too many of them…… but I have no trouble killing a small group.”
“B-but you said you were twelve…….”
“I come from a fallen noble family…… I learned swordsmanship from a skilled swordsman and magic from a skilled mage when I was young.”
“…….”
Even so, it was hard to believe that a twelve-year-old boy had mastered the Sword Aura of a high-level Expert and second-circle magic.
There was probably no one at the Central Academy, where nobles studied, who had reached the level of a high-level Expert at twelve.
Even those who had learned second-circle magic could likely be counted on three fingers.
'A genius…….'
The clerk swallowed.
“P-please wait a moment.”
She left the counter and ran off somewhere.
A little later, she returned with a burly middle-aged man.
Gray hair, a fierce face, and a scar by his eye.
He looked more like…… a bandit than a veteran mercenary.
“This brat can use the Sword Aura of a high-level Expert?”
Geon-hyeok's eyebrow twitched at the man's rude remark.
“Yes. He also completed three C-grade requests in just two days.”
“Are you sure he did it alone? He did not hire other mercenaries to raise his rank?”
“That's why I came to ask you to test him, Master.”
Geon-hyeok's ears pricked up at the word ‘Master.’
Was this man the master of the Mercenary Guild here…… no, in Cielo Village?
Geon-hyeok narrowed his eyes and met the middle-aged man's sharp gaze.
“So you're the guild master.”
“That is right. I am Gunt, master of the Mercenary Guild in Cielo Village.”
“I'm Astan.”
“I have a few questions for you. Can you really use the Sword Aura of a high-level Expert?”
“Yes.”
“I hear you can use second-circle magic, too…….”
“I learned swordsmanship from my father and magic from the family mage.”
“And your parents?”
“They died when I was young.”
“Hmm…….”
Gunt nodded and jerked his chin.
“Follow me. I will see what you can do in the yard.”
As Gunt headed for the back door, the clerk looked at Geon-hyeok.
“I don't think you are lying, Mr. Astan, but I cannot simply issue you a C-rank mercenary badge. A twelve-year-old knowing the Sword Aura of a high-level Expert and second-circle magic, and an F-rank mercenary completing three C-grade requests alone in two days…… There is no precedent for it.”
“If I show the master what I can do, will you issue me a C-rank mercenary badge?”
“Yes, of course.”
Geon-hyeok nodded and hurried out the back door.
He found himself in the yard where he had washed two days earlier.
Wooden swords lay about ten meters from the well.
Gunt picked up one sized for a child and threw it to Geon-hyeok.
TAP!
Geon-hyeok caught the sword and looked at him.
“This should do.”
Gunt took up a hefty wooden greatsword.
He grinned at Geon-hyeok.
“Now, come at me with everything you have!”
“……May I use my full strength?”
“Of course! I was an A-rank mercenary once. If a snot-nosed little brat beat me, I would never be able to hold my head up again!”
SNAP!
Geon-hyeok's face twisted at Gunt's mockery.
A snot-nosed little brat?
If he showed his full strength, Gunt would be obliterated in a single blow.
How could a mere mercenary possibly withstand the Sword Aura of a Swordmaster and fourth-circle magic?
Even S-rank mercenaries mostly wielded the Sword Aura of a top-level Expert.
Swordmasters, whose prowess was called heroic, were recruited by royal courts or noble houses.
“Whew…….”
Geon-hyeok glared at Gunt with a cold expression.
“Here I come.”
“Hurry up! I have piles of paperwork to get through!”
Fine. Then I'd better send you on your way quickly.
Geon-hyeok channeled Sword Aura into his wooden sword and hurled himself at Gunt.
WHOOSH!
His strike surged toward Gunt's chest, only to cut through empty air.
“What……?”
“Oh? You certainly are fast.”
Gunt dodged with an easy movement and let out a quiet sound of admiration.
A little cold sweat broke out on Geon-hyeok.
I suppose an A-rank mercenary really is an A-rank mercenary.
'I need to move faster.'
DASH!
Geon-hyeok kicked off the ground and began pressing Gunt with the Crode-Style Swordsmanship he had inherited from Dave.
THWACK! THWACK-THWACK!
“Hmph……!”
The ease vanished from Gunt's face.
The Sword Aura of a high-level Expert wrapped around his greatsword.
Geon-hyeok swung his wooden sword steadily, trying to bear down on Gunt.
But even using Crode-Style Swordsmanship and the Sword Aura of a high-level Expert, he could not bring Gunt down.
There was no making up for the difference in experience, it seemed.
“Tsk…….”
No choice, then.
“Element Magic(Element Magic) - Lightning(Lightning)!”
A small streak of lightning struck down from above.
Looking slightly surprised, Gunt swung his greatsword and blocked it.
BOOM—!
Now!
Gunt had left an opening.
Geon-hyeok lunged at it and threw a punch.
THWACK—!
“Urgh……!”
Who could have guessed such a small child's fist would feel so heavy?
Just as Gunt clutched his waist and tried to retreat, Geon-hyeok's wooden sword touched his neck.
“I believe that is enough…… Shall we continue?”
Gunt gave a small, hollow laugh and dropped his greatsword to the ground.
“Yes. You win.”
Geon-hyeok lowered his wooden sword and met Gunt's eyes.
“Thank you for the match.”
“Heh…… You are a monster, not a genius. At this level, you could easily beat most B-rank mercenaries. A-rank mercenaries, too.”
“Then will you issue me a C-rank mercenary badge?”
“C-rank? That is far too low for you. I will write you a recommendation for B-rank right now.”
He meant he would issue a B-rank mercenary badge on the strength of a recommendation letter.
“B-rank……? But going straight from F-rank to B-rank…….”
“Yes, it is unusual, but there have been cases. Former knights, for example, receive C~A-rank recommendations from Mercenary Guild masters.”
So he could become an A-rank mercenary in one step?!
“Mind you, only Mercenary Guild masters in major cities or the capital can write A-rank recommendations. Masters in small cities and villages are limited to D~C-rank recommendations.”
“What?”
Then what about the B-rank recommendation you said you'd write?!
“As I just said, I used to be an A-rank mercenary. The guild also held me in high regard. That is why I can write a B-rank recommendation.”
“I…… see.”
So he had the skill to back up that rotten personality.
No. Perhaps those remarks earlier had been intended to draw out Geon-hyeok's full strength.
“Do you intend to live in Cielo Village?”
“I've decided to live in Rabin Village.”
“Rabin…… The village to the south. It will not have a Mercenary Guild of its own, so you will have to work out of Cielo Village.”
“Yes. That's what I plan to do.”
“……Why not move to Cielo Village instead?”
“Well…….”
Geon-hyeok scratched his head and explained his circumstances.
Cielo Village was not territory House Payson had governed.
There might be people who had moved here from its lands, but few of the residents would harbor resentment toward him.
Gunt looked a little surprised to learn that Geon-hyeok was a noble.
“Come to think of it, the former Count of Payson…….”
“Yes, he died in an ‘accident.’ I shut myself in my bedroom to escape reality after the shock. As for my demotion…… in a way, I brought it on myself. I entrusted all the duties I should have performed as lord to someone else.”
“……I see.”
“In any case, I am now the lord of Rabin Village. I cannot live on the taxes collected there, and I expect there will be too little money to manage the village, so I became a mercenary to earn my living expenses.”
Gunt folded his arms and nodded.
His tone barely changed after learning Geon-hyeok was a noble.
Only his gaze shifted, as if he found the boy commendable.
“Then you will have no choice but to travel between Rabin and Cielo.”
“Yes, it looks that way.”
“Go inside and wait. I will write the recommendation quickly.”
“Can I get the mercenary badge right away?”
“Yes.”
“Understood. Then…….”
Geon-hyeok turned and met the eyes of the clerk standing by the back door.
“Ah…… ha ha…… I wanted to see whether you really were a high-level Expert swordsman, so I came out. But…… that was incredible.”
“Did you hear what I said about myself, too?”
“Yes. I'm sorry.”
“I thought I'd have to tell you someday anyway, so don't worry about it.”
“Please follow me. I'll issue your B-rank mercenary badge as soon as the master writes the recommendation.”
Geon-hyeok followed her inside.
“Please sit over there and wait a moment.”
There was a long wooden bench in front of the guild noticeboard.
Geon-hyeok sat down and stared blankly at the board.
It was covered with news of all kinds.
How far the Demon King's Army had advanced.
What magic beasts had appeared in which areas.
Even a blacklist of mercenaries, with details about them.
'Can I find information about nearby areas that isn't in the newspapers…… at the guild?'
As Geon-hyeok read the noticeboard in a daze, the clerk returned to the counter with a document the size of an A4 sheet of paper.
“Sir Astan?”
“…….”
“Sir Astan!”
“Ah……!”
Geon-hyeok startled and looked at her.
Right. My name is ‘Astan N. Payson’ now.
I have to bury the name ‘Park Geon-hyeok.’
“Yes.”
Geon-hyeok…… no, Astan went to the counter and received his B-rank mercenary badge from the clerk.